Brayan Rocchio Flashes Leather As Guardians Shortstop

Cleveland Guardians prospect Brayan Rocchio is already making an impact on defense.

Tommy Wild | Aug 8, 2023

Brayan Rocchio Flashes Leather As Guardians Shortstop /

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The Cleveland Guardians committed to playing their young core following the trades of Amed Rosario and Josh Bell at the deadline.

This created an open competition between Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, and Gabriel Arias for who will be the future shortstop for the Guardians. Arias and Freeman have a slight head start since they've been with the club longer, but Rocchio is immediately making an impact on the defensive side.

One fantastic play he made came against the Toronto Blue Jays. George Springer hit a high pop up which took a last-second turn and Rocchio tracked it perfectly to make the catch.

Later in that same game, a ball was hit to the left side of second base. Rocchi beautifully snagged it, did a 360, and threw out Valdimir Guerrero Jr. at first.

Of course, there are going to be misplays such as his two low throws in the series finale against the Chicago White Sox. (He was also playing out of position at third base.)

But Rocchio has largely shown his natural ability on defense with these plays and that's a welcome sign for what's quickly turning into the best defensive infield in baseball.

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Published Aug 8, 2023

TOMMY WILD